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Simple Uses for Sunflowers

 

When you have a large crop of sunflowers from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include them in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use them up before they go bad without getting sick of them.  You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.


Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple!  Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve sunflowers:



  • Add the petals to salads.  Specifically, you can use them as Decor in an Interesting Salad.

  • Grill the flowerheads.  Sunflower heads can be grilled whole, with or without the seeds inside them.

  • Sauté or stirfry the leaves and stems with garlic and lemon balm.  This combination can be eaten as a standalone dish or added to pastas, egg dishes, meat dishes, and casseroles.

  • Add the leaves to soups and broths.

  • Add the leaves and stems to egg dishes like omelets and quiches.

  • Roast the seeds.

  • Add the seeds to salad.

  • Use the seeds in granola blends or add them to your bowl of premade granola.

  • Add the seeds to trail mix.

  • Make a creative pesto with the seeds.  Purée them in a food processor along with mint, rosemary, olive oil, and pecorino romano, a sheep's milk cheese.

  • Make a tea with the leaves.  Sunflower leaves can be prepared as an infusion.


  • Dry the seeds to preserve them for later use.

  • Make chips with the leaves and salt, similar to kale chips.



  • Dry the heads and make a sunflower wreath or other sunflower decor and crafts.  Dried sunflower heads are generally not edible like fresh heads are, but they make lovely decorations.



Further Reading

Growing sunflowers?  Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.


Sunflowers are also featured in these articles:


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